Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens sees the Gardeners’ World presenter embark on a horticultural odyssey across Spain to discover its glorious green spaces.
In the three-parter, airing on BBC One in the UK, Monty Don travels through various parts of the country to visit a range of gardens, from private plots to city parks and neighbourhood schemes, and reveals how they have been influenced by Spain's landscapes and its rich history.
Here’s everything you need to know about Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens…
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens — release date
The three-part series will begin on Friday, February 23 on BBC One at 8pm and will air weekly. The episodes will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens — what is it about?
Following on from Monty's previous series including Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens and Monty Don's Paradise Gardens, the show sees Monty make his way through the centre of Spain before taking in the South and then the North of the country as he explores a variety of gardens that reflect the very different regions.
Along the way, he meets the owners, designers and gardeners who have helped to create the plots, to discover what makes each garden unique and innovative and how they have been designed to suit the challenging terrain and climate.
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens — Episode Guide
Episode One: Central Spain
Monty Don’s 4000-kilometre journey through Spain starts in the centre, where he wonders at the gardens of the royal palace of El Escorial, north of Madrid, while in the capital itself, he sees an incredible vertical garden inside a bank and a tropical haven that has been developed in a railway station.
“The bank garden was designed in the 1970s, when people weren't doing that kind of thing. It was unusual,” says Monty. “And the creator, Luis González-Camino, who has become one of Spain’s most respected landscape designers, was then just in his 20s, it’s extraordinary.”
Episode Two: Southern Spain
In Mallorca, Monty explores several gardens, including La Fortaleza in Puerto Pollensa, which was created in the 1920s at a converted 17th century fort. On the mainland, he visits a collection of 200,000 date palm trees in Alicante, and on the Costa del Sol, he learns about Estepona’s green project, where over 16,000 pots of flowers adorn the narrow roads.
“In Estepona, it’s about reclaiming the streets,” says Monty. “It’s restoring the former charm and making it a better place to live in – it’s like a huge communal garden. Over 100 streets have been renovated.”
Episode Three: Northern Spain
Travelling through the verdant north, Monty enjoys the celebrated gardens at Pazo de Oca in Galicia, and a bustling allotment in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela. In Barcelona, he meets a centenarian who grows his own rooftop produce and outside Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, he encounters the 40-foot-high Puppy statue made from plants.
“I thought I wouldn't like the puppy, but it was wonderful!” smiles Monty. “The scale’s amazing, it has around 30,000 plants and inside, it's like a spaceship with wires and a watering system. It’s kitsch but fun and dramatic.”
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens — exclusive interview with Monty Don
What was the appeal for you?
“I thought Spain wasn't particularly a gardening country, but this was an eye-opener. It is enormous, diverse and like a collection of states each with its own customs, climate, and, of course, gardens. It was very exciting!”
How would you define Spain’s approach to horticulture?
“There’s no one typical Spanish garden but there’s a Spanish spirit. It's a proud country, they love tradition and there’s a fierceness and extremity you see in their gardens. They make gardens in difficult conditions using ingenuity, compromise, skill and experimentation, and they think outside the conventional horticultural box."
You travel to three different regions. What makes them distinct?
“The central area’s harsh, it’s colder in winter than Britain, and hotter in summer and the soil’s poor, so you have limited plantings like low shrubs. Then an Andalusian or southern garden is essentially a patio with colourful pots. But Spain was also a Muslim country for centuries, so you also see Christian and Islamic influences in the way they use water and enclosures. And the Basque Country [in the north] is lusher with ferns, grass and herbaceous planting.”
Several gardens you visited were designed with the impact of climate change in mind, weren’t they?
“Yes, with Spain’s extreme temperatures and summer drought, plants burn up, and then there’s flooding in winter. And what's happening in Spain now may happen to us in 10 years, so we should take note. Perhaps the most influential place I saw was Torre d'Ariant in Mallorca, which was created by a Swiss woman, Heidi Gildemeister, who made a garden which she could only water sparingly, yet it was still beautiful.”
You also uncovered some unusual gardens, including one in a school in Madrid…
“That was fascinating because the building was designed so that every aspect is part of the pupils’ education. They have huge window boxes, so the children see birds, insects and flowers. There’s an atrium like a mini Kew Gardens with palm trees and they can do lessons there. Then outside, they grow vegetables, which are cooked for their lunch. It’s brilliant!”
And what was it like exploring a garden on the outskirts of Madrid, which was designed around the routes the owner’s dogs naturally took through the grounds?
“Obviously I’m mad about dogs and that was extraordinary! The designer came at things sideways, so you don't have fixed paths, you can shift them around, seeing the way the dogs move and what they like, and interesting things come through. It’s inspiring.”
Have you picked up any gardening ideas from the trip?
“It has inspired me not to abuse the benign conditions we have over here. British gardeners sometimes, and I'm one of them, get carried away – just because you can grow something, it doesn't mean it's a good idea."
Finally, where would you like to visit next?
“Central Europe or South America. I’ve been to South America for Around the World in 80 Gardens [his 2008 series], but I’d like to explore it more. And I don't know Central Europe, but there are a lot of very interesting gardens there, so wouldn't that be good?!”
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens trailer
Sadly there isn't a trailer for the series yet, but as soon as one is released we will add it to this guide.
